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The Plough and the Stars
The Plough and the Stars

The Plough and the Stars

  • Sep 24, 2016 - Oct 9, 2016

  • Loeb Drama Center

  • Run Time: 2 hours and 35 minutes with one intermission.

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Tickets from $25

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Written by Sean O’Casey
Directed by Sean Holmes

A.R.T. brings the Abbey Theatre’s acclaimed production of The Plough and the Stars to Boston during the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. As revolution sweeps Ireland, the residents of a Dublin tenement take shelter from the violence that sweeps through the city’s streets. Sean O’Casey—one of Ireland’s most renowned and controversial playwrights—captures a conflict between idealism and ordinary lives. Celebrating nearly a century of the Irish nation state, this production by the national theater of Ireland, staged by Olivier Award-winning director Sean Holmes, will bring a new perspective to O’Casey’s absorbing play.

@americanrep #ThePloughAndTheStars

 

Need to know

This show has loud gun fire, sound effects, and music.

Read more

For a plot summary, please click here.

Click here to read the show’s program.

“Dublin, 1916,” a Lecture by Dr. Clair Wills
Before the performance on September 30, The Consul General of Ireland, Fionnuala Quinlan, Irish Network Boston, and the American Conference of Irish Studies hosted a special lecture on Dublin in 1916 by Professor Clair Willis, Chair of Irish letters at Princeton University and the author of “Dublin, 1916” (2016, Harvard UP). Listen to a recording of the lecture below.

Notable dates

This show has loud gun fire, sound effects, and music.

Open Captioned

Oct. 6, 7:30PM & Oct. 8, 2PM

Age Appropriateness

Recommended for grades 7 and up.
Due to the Irish dialect and historical references in O’Casey’s play, we recommend introducing middle- and high-school students to the text of the play prior to attendance. The play contains portrayals of revolutionary violence, extreme poverty, heavy drinking, and mild sexuality.

Discussions

POST-PERFORMANCE DISCUSSIONS
Post-performance discussions with members of the cast will follow the 2PM performances on 10/1, 10/5, and 10/8.

SEPTEMBER 30 LECTURE
Before the performance on September 30, The Consul General of Ireland, Fionnuala Quinlan, Irish Network Boston, and the American Conference of Irish Studies will host a special lecture on Dublin in 1916 by Professor Clair Willis, Chair of Irish letters at Princeton University. Professor Willis’ lecture will take place from 3:30PM to 4:30PM in the Loeb Drama Center. Free and open to the public.

Presented in association with Cusack Projects Limited.
Supported by McCann FitzGerald and the Boston Friends of the Abbey Theatre.

Press

Credits

Creative team

Cast

Jack Clitheroe

Ian-Lloyd Anderson

Jack Clitheroe

Ian-Lloyd Anderson

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: Our Few and Evil Days, Sive, The Risen People, Major Barbara, Shibari, Alice in Funderland, Macbeth, The Rivals, The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui. Other theater includes: Every Doris Has His Day, Big Ole Piece of Cake, The Bruising of the Clouds, Fishamble: The New Play Company; Richard III, Fast and Loose Theatre Company; Dublin Oldschool (Best Performer at the Dublin Fringe Festival 2015), End Time, Project Arts Centre; Ride On, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Livin’ Dred Theatre Company; The Field, Verdant Theatre Company; Danti Dan, Galloglass Theatre Company; The Colleen Bawn, Bedrock Productions, Project Arts Centre; Bad Sunday, TILT Theatre Company; Ferry Tales, 50 Ways to Leave Dun Laoghaire, BDNC, Carpet Theatre Company. Film/TV include: “The Clinic,” “Raw,” “Love/Hate,” RTÉ; "The Wild Colonial Boy," TG4; Dorothy Mills, Mars Distribution; Shadow Dancer, BBC Films and Element Pictures; Standby, Black Sheep Productions; Scratch, Warrior Films; Leave, 925 Productions; “Game of Thrones,” HBO; They Shoot People, Mark Noonan.

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Kate Stanley Brennan

Nora Clitheroe

Kate Stanley Brennan

Kate Stanley Brennan

Nora Clitheroe

Kate Stanley Brennan

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: Hedda Gabler, The Risen People, The Plough and the Stars, Terminus, The Playboy of the Western World, The Resistible Rise of Arturo UiSaved. Other theater includes: The Night Alive, Lyric Theatre, Belfast and the Gaiety Theatre; Witness, Project Arts Centre, The Everyman; Wuthering Heights, Salome, Gate Theatre; A New Day, Bewley’s Café Theatre; Best Man, The Everyman / Project Arts Centre; Tiny Plays For Ireland, Fishamble: The New Play Company; The Making Of ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore, Siren Productions; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Irish Times Theatre Award Best Supporting Actress 2010 nomination), Making Strange Theatre Company; Love and Money (Irish Times Theatre Award Best Actress 2009 nomination), Hatch Theatre Company; Caligula, CHRG; Translations, Ouroboros Theatre Ireland; Macbeth, Second Age Theatre Company; Mother Goose, Gaiety Theatre; Foxfinder, Theatre 503; Feel Sad About Japan, Southwark Playhouse, Nabakov; Yerma, West Yorkshire Playhouse; The Sanctuary Lamp, Arcola Theatre London; Sonnets For An Old Century, X-Bel-Air Theatre. Film/TV include: Fading Away, Filmbase; Inspector Jury, IJ Prods; Thanks for Nothing, Redomlette; Chasing The Green, Big Apple Productions; Doll House, Visit Films, Factory Productions; Dublin In Pieces, I-Wire Films; “Raw,” “Fair City,” T.X, RTÉ; “The Tudors,” HBO; Speed Dating, System 48 Ltd. In 2014, Kate released an EP called Miss Kate & the Higher State.

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Tony Clay

Sergeant Tinley

Tony Clay

Tony Clay

Sergeant Tinley

Tony Clay

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: Debut. Other theater includes: Lines, The Yard Theatre; Albion, Bush Theatre; Fifteen Minutes with You, Wimbledon College of Art; The Wonderful World of Dissocia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Earthquakes in London, Promise, All My Sons, Ivanov, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Arts Ed; The Machine Wreckers, Miskin Theatre. Film/TV include: The Second Coming, Film 4; An Ordinary Life, Good Guy Productions, “Foyles War,” ITV.

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Lloyd Cooney

Lieut. Langon

Lloyd Cooney

Lloyd Cooney

Lieut. Langon

Lloyd Cooney

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: The Shadow of a Gunman, The Waste Ground Party, Twelfth Night, The Risen People. Other theater includes: The Windstealers, Eccles Theatre Group;  Angel Meadow, Thirteen, Living the Lockout, The Boys of Foley Street, ANU Productions; Romeo and Juliet, Devise and Conquer; Delta Phase, Polish Theatre Ireland. Radio/TV include: The Commitments and The Guts, BBC Radio; “Charlie,” Touchpaper TV/ Element Films.

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Hilda Fay

Bessie Burgess

Hilda Fay

Hilda Fay

Bessie Burgess

Hilda Fay

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: Tina’s Idea of Fun, Oedipus, The Risen People, Perve, Little Gem, The Playboy of the Western World. Other theater includes: The Threepenny Opera, Gate Theatre; Little Gem (Best Ensemble Dublin Fringe 2008, Best of Edinburgh Award in Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2009), Gúna Nua, tour to Project Arts Centre, Civic Theatre, Olympia Theatre, Flea Theater, and Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh; The Vagina Monologues, Tivoli Theatre, National Tour; The Woman Who Walked into Doors, Olympia Theatre, The Helix; Green and Fontamara, Vesuvius; Diptych, Louise Lowe, National Tour; Kiss ‘n’ Tell, Andrews Lane Theatre; Girls Night the Musical, National Tour; Alice Devine, Viking Theatre; Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Sinbad, Cinderella, Gaiety Theatre; An Feilican Fan, Crypt; Trojan Woman, Plush; Macbeth, Mill Theatre. Film/TV include: “Finbar’s Class,” “Proof,” “The Clinic,” “Fair City,” RTÉ; Ordinary Decent Criminal, Bórd Scannán na hÉireann; Saltwater, Treasure Films; Though the Sky Falls, Irish Screen; Prosperity, Element Pictures; On the Street Where You Live, Shemalir Films; Whistleblower (IFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress), Saffron Pictures/RTÉ, Dry Christmas, National Film School at IADT. Radio includes: Elvis is Dead, Tricks of the Trade, Garden of Eden, Serenity, 2.45am, RTÉ.

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David Ganly

Fluther Good

David Ganly

David Ganly

Fluther Good

David Ganly

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: The Shadow of a Gunman; Drum Belly; The Cavalcaders; Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme; Philadelphia, Here I Come!. Broadway: The Lonesome West, Druid, Royal Court, Sydney. Other theater includes: The Merchant of Venice, Lyric Theatre, Belfast; The Threepenny Opera, The Weir, Gate Theatre; The Risen People, The Snow Queen, Gaiety Theatre; Grease, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, Olympia Theatre; The Plough and the Stars, Second Age Theatre Company; Extremities, Andrew’s Lane Theatre; Carousel, Tivoli Theatre; Shoot the Crow, Summerhouse, Druid; F!, Dublin Theatre Festival; Amphibians, YMCA, Wexford; Uncle Vanya, The Wizard of Oz, West Yorkshire Playhouse; Shakespeare in Love, Noel Coward Theatre, London; Cinderella, Lyric Hammersmith; Macbeth, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield; Of Mice and Men, The Watermill, Newbury; The Wizard Of Oz, London Palladium; The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Off West End Best Actor nomination); Bedtime Story and The End of the Beginning, Young Vic; Chicago, Cambridge Theatre, Istanbul, China; The Field, The Cavalcaders and John Bull’s Other Island, Tricycle Theatre; Translations, National Theatre; Hamlet, The Weir, Waiting for Godot, Theatre Royal, Northampton; Americans, The Contractor, The Quare Fellow, Oxford Stage Company; The Full Monty, Prince of Wales Theatre; Russian Tales, The Cavalcaders, Meridian Theatre Company; The Talented Mr Ripley, Watford Theatre, Dancing at Lughnasa, Salisbury Playhouse. Film/TV include: “Charlie,” RTÉ; Sunset Song, Sell-Out Pictures; Body of Lies, Warner Bros. Pictures; Hippie Hippie Shake, Studio Canal; Dorothy Mills, Fidélite Prouctions; Widow’s Peak, British Screen Productions; “Holby City,” “Doctors,” BBC.

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Rachel Gleeson

Mollser

Rachel Gleeson

Rachel Gleeson

Mollser

Rachel Gleeson

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: Oedipus. Other theater includes: Pride and Prejudice, My Cousin Rachel, The Threepenny Opera, A Christmas Carol, Gate Theatre; Anna Bella Eema, Project Arts Centre; ShellShock, Cavan Town Hall Theatre; The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle, Soho Theatre; This Is It, This Is The Day, Heroin(e) for Breakfast, Smock Alley Theatre; Moment, Tall Tales Theatre Company, Irish Tour; Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Gaiety Theatre; The Wizard of Oz, Oliver, Annie, The King and I, The National Concert Hall. Film/TV include: What Richard Did, Element Pictures, "Stardust," RTÉ. Training: Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin.

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James Hayes

Peter Flynn

James Hayes

James Hayes

Peter Flynn

James Hayes

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: An Ideal Husband, Hinterland, co-produced with Out of Joint and the National Theatre, London. Off-Broadway: All That Fall, The Arts Theatre/Jermyn Street Theatre, 59E59. Other theater includes: Kiss Me Kate, Opera North; Antony and Cleopatra, The Globe; ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, West Yorkshire Playhouse; The Price, Lyceum, Edinburgh; Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Hampstead Theatre; Loot, Tricycle Theatre; Written on the Heart, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford and Duchess Theatre; Antony and Cleopatra; Julius Caesar; The Tempest; A New Way to Please You; Thomas More; Sejanus; Richard III; Measure for Measure; The Winter’s Tale; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; The Cherry Orchard; Woyzeck; Faust; The Taming of the Shrew; The Hostage; The Venetian Twins; Elgar’s Rondo; The Tempest; Royal Shakespeare Company; Philadelphia, Here I Come!; The Man Who Had All the Luck; Donmar Warehouse; Of Mice and Men, The Crucible, Belonging, Birmingham Rep; The Rivals, Bristol Old Vic; Hamlet, The Antipodes, Shakespeare’s Globe; Tear from a Glass Eye, Gate Theatre; Lenny, Queen’s Theatre; The Winter’s Tale, Macbeth, English Shakespeare Company; The Captain of Kopenick, Liola, Women Beware Women, Saint Joan, The Relapse, Mappa Mundi, Othello, A View from the Bridge, A Chorus of Disapproval, The Oresteia, The Fawn, Coriolanus, Electra, As I Lay Dying, The Spanish Tragedy, Amadeus, Strider, The Romans in Britain, Galileo, Grand Manoeuvres, The Misanthrope, The Front Page, Macbeth, The Good Natured Man, National Theatre, London. Film/TV include: Give or Take; The Eagle; “Hunted,” “The Café,” “Moving Wallpaper,” “Charles I,” Promoted to Glory, “Playing the Field,” “The Jury,” “Waking the Dead,” A Question of Guilt, The Winter’s Tale, Jacob, The Oresteia, Leprechauns, “Parnell,” “A Touch of Frost,” “The Bill,” “The Piglet Files,” “The March,” Wild Justice, “Bergerac,” “Howard’s Way,” “Emmerdale,” “The Professionals,” “Colditz,” “A Bunch of Fives,” On the Shelf, Hold the Dream, “You’re on Your Own,��� Red Roses for Me,  “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.”

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Liam Heslin

Capt. Brennan

Liam Heslin

Liam Heslin

Capt. Brennan

Liam Heslin

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: Debut. Other theater includes: East of Berlin, Project Arts Centre; King Lear, Second Age Theatre Company; A Boy Called Nedd, Bitter Like a Lemon and Theatre Upstairs; PALS: The Irish at Gallipoli, ANU Productions; Borstal Boy, Rigoletto, Samson et Delila, Gaiety Theatre; The Clearing, Into the Woods, The Night Season, Mary Stuart, Scenes from the Big Picture, Poor Little Boy With No Arms, The Rover, The Suppliants, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Lir Academy; Iphigenia in Aulis, Classic Stage Ireland; Doughnuts, Light Signals, Team Theatre. Film/TV include: Kaleidoscope, The Lir Academy; “Fair City,” RTÉ. Liam trained at The Lir Academy.

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Ger Kelly

A Bar-tender

Ger Kelly

Ger Kelly

A Bar-tender

Ger Kelly

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: Oedipus, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, The Playboy of the Western World, The Big House. Other theater includes: Confusion Boats, Wedding Day at Cro-Magnons, Bedrock Productions; Alone it Stands, Verdent Productions; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Dublin Fringe Festival; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Phaedra’s Love, Loose Canon; History, Heroin, The Family, THEATREclub; Richard III, Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle; The Silver Tassie, Druid; Twelfth Night, Grand Pavilion Bray; The Government Inspector, Bruiser tour; 1984, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Black Snow, The Hostage, The Tempest, Summerfolk, Samuel Beckett Theatre. Film/TV include: “Love/Hate,” “Trivia,” Sin é, Redline.

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Janet Moran

Mrs. Gogan

Janet Moran

Janet Moran

Mrs. Gogan

Janet Moran

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: She Stoops to Conquer; Shibari; Juno and the Paycock, co-production with National Theatre, UK; Translations; No Romance; The Recruiting Officer; The Cherry Orchard; She Stoops to Conquer; Communion (Irish Times/ESB Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress); Barbaric Comedies; The Well of the Saints; The Hostage. Other theater includes: Spinning and Swing (Co-writer), Fishamble: The New Play Company; Desire Under the Elms, Freefall, Everyday, Dublin by Lamplight, Car Show, The Corn Exchange; The Bridge Below the Town, Livin’ Dred; Pineapple, Xaviers, Calipo Theatre Company; Unravelling the Ribbon, Gúna Nua; Translations, Ouroborus Theatre Company; Metamorphosis/Platonov, The Rep Experiment; Submarine Man, Upstate; King Ubu, Galway Arts Festival/Fineswine; The Crock of Gold, Emma, Storytellers; All’s Well That Ends Well, Classic Stage Ireland; Dancing at Lughnasa, An Grianán Theatre; Royal Supreme, Theatre Royal Plymouth; Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Calypso; Dead Funny, Rough Magic Theatre Company; Playing From the Heart, The Ark; Her Big Chance, Bewley’s Café Theatre; Stella by Starlight, Gate Theatre; Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Second Age; The Stomping Ground, Red Kettle. Film/TV include: Volkswagen Joe, Ripple world; Minim Rest, No Return Films; Breakfast on Pluto, Pluto Films; The Butcher Boy, Butcher Boy Productions; Moll Flanders, Moll Flanders Productions; Nothing Personal, Little Bird; “Quirke,” BBC; “Love/Hate,” Octagon Films; "Love is the Drug," West St Television; “Brigid and Eamon,” “The Clinic,” RTÉ; “Career Opportunities,” RTÉ/BBC, “Trivia,” (Outstanding Actress in a TV Comedy Series nomination, Monte Carlo Television Awards).

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Ciarán O'Brien

The Young Covey

Ciarán O'Brien

Ciarán O'Brien

The Young Covey

Ciarán O'Brien

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: Drum Belly, The Government Inspector, Curse of the Starving Class, Perve, Arrah-na-Pogue, The Plough and the Stars, The Comedy of Errors, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Saved, Julius Caesar, The Importance of Being Earnest. Other theater includes: The Playboy of the Western World, Orson’s Shadow, Southwark Playhouse; Of Mice and Men, Birmingham Rep; Translations, UK Tour; Elevator, THISISPOPBABY; The Great Goat Bubble, Fishamble: The New Play Company; Travesties, Rough Magic; Durang Durang, Project Arts Centre; Between Foxrock and a Hard Place, Landmark Productions; The Shawshank Redemption, Gaiety Theatre, Cork Opera House, Derry Millennium Forum; Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Gaiety Theatre; Observe The Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Livin’ Dred / Nomad; This is Our Youth, Bedrock Productions; Peter Pan, Pavilion Theatre; The Magic Tee, Granary Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, Belltable Theatre, Dublin Fringe; Lil’ Red and Sk8er Jack, Civic Theatre; Fewer Emergencies, Randolph SD | The Company; How Many Miles to Babylon?, Second Age; Myrmidons, Ouroboros; Seven Deadly Teens, Dublin Fringe Festival; Oliver Twist, Gate Theatre. Film/TV include: Pursuit, AGM Prods; “Misfits,” Channel 4; “Ripper Street,” BBC; “The Last Security Man,” RTÉ Storyland; “The Tudors,” Showtime Networks; “Fair City,” “Custer’s Last Stand Up,” RTÉ; Detained, Monster Animations; “Prince William,” Fox Television Studios; Incredible Story Studio, Minds Eye Entertainment; The Boy from Mercury, Blue Rose Films. Training: Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin.

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Nima Taleghani

Corporal Stoddart

Nima Taleghani

Nima Taleghani

Corporal Stoddart

Nima Taleghani

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: Debut. Other theater includes: Mercury Fur, Middle Child / Hull Truck Theatre Company; The White Whale, Slung Low; Dangerous Liaisons, Whole Hog Theatre; A Clockwork Orange, Fourth Monkey Theatre; Road, Pornography, Warwick University Drama Society. Rehearsed readings: North Country, Arcola Theatre; 360 Degrees of Hope, Dep Arts/Slung Low. Film/TV include: 90 Minutes, El Capitan; “Casualty,” BBC.

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Nyree Yergainharsian

Rosie Redmond

Nyree Yergainharsian

Nyree Yergainharsian

Rosie Redmond

Nyree Yergainharsian

A.R.T.: Debut. The Abbey Theatre: The Government Inspector; As You Are Now So Once Were We, The Company Theatre Company. Other theater includes: The Good Father, Axis Theatre; The Rest is Action, Fringe Fest at Project Arts Centre; Politik, Dublin Theatre Festival at Samuel Beckett Theatre; Hipsters We Met and Liked, Fringe Fest at Samuel Beckett Theatre; Who is Fergus Kilpatrick?, The Company; Phaedra’s Love, Loose Canon Theatre Company; Wedding Day at Cro Magnon’s, Bedrock Productions; Top Girls, Galloglass Theatre Company;  A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Public Shakespeare Company; Sexual Perversity in Chicago, The Sugar Club; Almost Legal, The New Theatre. Film/TV include: Dublin in Pieces, I-Wire Films; “Fair City” and “Pure Mule,” RTÉ. Training: Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin and Goldsmiths University London. She is a founding member of The Company Theatre Company, with whom she regularly performs as well as producing their work.

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Additional staff

The Plough and the Stars, produced by The Abbey Theatre, is presented in association with Cusack Projects Limited.